- Elon Musk–backed DOGE is rolling out an AI chatbot to some federal workers as it continues to slash government jobs, Wired reported. The department has officially been tasked with upgrading the federal government’s technology and software use.
DOGE has rolled out a custom AI-powered chatbot, GSAi, to around 1,500 government workers as it continues to slash the federal workforce, Wired reported.
The wider release follows a small pilot held in February, in which around 150 GSA workers were granted access to the bot. While the bot has been in the works for months, DOGE has greatly accelerated its deployment, sources told Wired.
The AI tool has reportedly been fine-tuned in a way that makes it safe for government use. At the moment, it is supposed to be used for “general” tasks, but eventually DOGE hopes to use it to analyze contracts and procurement data, according to a previous report.
An internal memo about the product, reviewed by Wired, suggests employees use it for drafting emails, creating talking points, summarizing text, and writing code. It also warns employees not to “type or paste federal nonpublic information (such as work products, emails, photos, videos, audio, and conversations that are meant to be pre-decisional or internal to GSA) as well as personally identifiable information as inputs.”
One employee told the outlet the AI tool was “about as good as an intern” and gave “generic and guessable answers.”
Employees can interact with GSAi via a chatbot interface similar to ChatGPT. The bot uses several models, including Anthropic’s Claude Haiku 3.5, Claude Sonnet 3.5 v2, and Meta LLaMa 3.2, depending on the task, the report said.
Representatives for the GSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune, made outside normal working hours.
GSA hit by DOGE-directed firings
The GSA is one of the government agencies that has been gutted by DOGE-directed layoffs.
Last month, the agency suddenly dismissed over 1,000 employees and has set future goals to cut staff by 63% in its public building service division, multiple current and former GSA employees told NPR. DOGE has also closed the General Services Administration’s (GSA) technology consulting unit, 18F, which had a staff of 90 to 100 technology researchers, website designers, and product managers.
Rolling out a custom-made chatbot could be a way to justify the spate of firings by boosting the productivity and efficiency of remaining government workers.
DOGE’s tech focus
DOGE leaders have long emphasized the need for better technology to increase government efficiency.
In a 2024 Wall Street Journal op-ed laying out their plans for DOGE, Musk and then co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy said they wanted to recruit a “lean team” of legal and technology experts.
Since then, several software engineers and former employees of Musk’s various technology companies have been linked to DOGE.
The department has officially been tasked with upgrading the federal government’s technology and software use.
In an executive order establishing DOGE, the team was tasked with implementing “the President’s DOGE Agenda” by modernizing “federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
The agency is technically a revamped version of the U.S. Digital Service, which was renamed the Department of Government Efficiency in the same executive order.
Founding members, along with current and former employees of the U.S. Digital Service, previously told Fortune that DOGE’s actions have been a “betrayal” of the agency’s original mission.
They argue that Musk and his allies have “weaponized” the office that was previously nonpartisan. According to its still-active website, USDS recruited “mission-driven professionals” primarily from the private sector—including major tech firms like Amazon and Google—for short-term “tours of civic service,” typically lasting two years. These engineers, designers, product managers, and digital policy experts collaborated in small teams with agencies such as the Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and the IRS.
Are you an employee at GSA with information to share? Contact this reporter at bea.nolan@fortune.com or securely via Signal at beatricenolan.08 from a non-work device.
